Many businesses are too small to make it worthwhile having someone
working full time on sales, and the job of bringing in new business
is often left to the directors. Here's how to set up an army
of people to sell for you…without having to pay them any
commission or salary.
Motivating the troops
First of all you have to make sure that you've got something
for people to get enthusiastic about. If you haven't heard
me going on about how you need to have a remarkable business, read the article here, or
come and hear me talk about it.
Finding the right people
You need to find the people who will be enthusiastic about
what you're doing. These might be your friends and family,
your customers, suppliers, or just people that like you. For
The Joy of Business, there are lots of people who have been
customers (maybe they've only come along for the free business
health check, or they've been clients for a while) who tell
people all the time about what I do. There are other people
who also provide services to businesses, and they know what
a difference I can make in organisations. And there are people
who I've met through networking and have become friends. They
constantly tell people about what I do, and encourage people
to get in touch for help.
Write down a list of all the people who have bought from
you, all the people who work in similar fields. Do the same
for all the people you know socially.
Training them up
Your army of sales people needs to know what you do. This
means that you have to train them - don't assume that people
understand it, because they often don't. Be very specific
here, give them free samples, explain the work that you're
doing and talk about your work in detail. Don't be afraid
that you're being boring, remember that we often don't talk
about our work with friends and that people get enthusiastic
about the things that you're passionate about.
Next you need to explain to people how they can help you.
Work out exactly what you need to do to sell more. Do you
need to make contacts in a particular organisation so that
the right person will come to a meeting with you? Is there
a specific geographical area that you need to sell to? Do
you need to meet people in a specific industry?
Explain to your crack troops what you need, and ask them
to help you. We're often afraid to ask people for help, but
helping each other out is part of what makes us human. There's a feel good factor in allowing people to help you. Think
about all the times that you've helped people, and remember
that it's okay to ask, as long as you allow people to say
no.
Getting some help for you
If this seems like a big task, or you're not quite sure how
to go about it, why not get some help in working out exactly
how to do things. You can book a free business health check, and I'll help you work out
a plan of action. And when you see how effective this form
of marketing can be, you'll be able to repay me by becoming
one of those people who tell everyone else to get in touch.
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